Is knife crime out of control? Is a violent gang waiting around every street corner? To listen to the Conservatives you would think so. Of course the truth is very different.

Even ‘The Times’ finds Conservative claims about the state of society intolerable. "The Leader of the Opposition has claimed repeatedly that we live in a broken society. It is a claim that ought to be resisted. There has never been a time when our society has been richer, lived longer, been more tolerant, guaranteed women greater opportunities, cared better for the sick or offered a better education for all." wrote the Times editorial last week. I agree.

We have some serious problems in the UK and they do need to be addressed but we also have a great deal going for us. Compared to the vast majority of people in the world we have a prosperous and peaceful country. Compared to other developed nations we have extremely high levels of employment, a great state education system, a world class health service and low levels of crime.

It is also worth remembering that all the statistics indicate that crime is falling all across Britain and, according to figures published last week, it is falling faster than ever. Even the level of violent crime, although it is not falling as fast as other forms of crime, is falling.

That said, one violent crime is one more than we should tolerate and recent knife attacks right here in Thanet and elsewhere in Kent show that it is a problem that we must face up to even here in our own community. That is why we now have record numbers of police on the streets. It is also why Police Community Support Officers are being integrated into the neighbourhood police teams. Happily a recent study by Kent Police shows the policy is reducing worry about crime and is also cutting anti-social behaviour.

It is also good that the Prime Minister and Home Secretary have announced plans to make people who carry knives and weapons aware of the harm they could do and announced that anyone over the age of 16 caught in possession of a knife can now expect to be prosecuted, rather than just given a caution. I also like their idea of "community pay back sentences", where young offenders have to "pay back for doing wrong", for example, by cleaning streets on a Friday or Saturday night or clearing up graffiti.

But when the Tories try to brand all young people as thugs they do young people and the whole of society a disservice. For one thing how does it help society if some people become too frightened to step outside their homes? And for another, young people themselves support action on crime as strongly as anyone. Over the past few weeks, I have carried out a survey of other 500 students in our local secondary schools, and over 45% of those who have responded said crime should be the government’s main priority for the future. That tells me, most young people are part of the answer to our problems, not the cause of them.